By Carmen, The Other Orientation Blog This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through them I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Looking for more college transition guidance? Start with The College Summer Checklist Every Parent Needs. Let me start with a story. When I left for college, my
By Carmen, The Other Orientation Blog The acceptance letter came. The deposit is paid. Your student has made their decision and you have exhaled for the first time in months. And then — usually sometime in May, often in a single afternoon — the emails start arriving. Housing portal. Student health forms. Course registration instructions.
You’re Not Done Yet: The Summer To-Do List Nobody Warned You About Read More »
By: Carmen, The Other Orientation Blog This is a college campus visit guide for families who want to go deeper than the standard tour. Most families approach a college campus visit the same way. You register for the official tour. You follow the student ambassador through the highlights — the dining hall, the rec center,
By: Carmen, The Other Orientation Blog There is a version of the college search that happens entirely on a screen. Rankings websites. Virtual tours. Subreddit threads from current students. Instagram accounts run by admissions offices showing the best possible version of every quad and dining hall. I understand the appeal — it’s efficient, it’s free,
Should You Visit College Campuses? 5 Reasons the Answer Is Yes Read More »
On rejection, redirection, and the hardest part nobody warns you about This is part two of a series. Start with “Hearing That Makes Me Feel Like I’m Home.” It was a Friday after 5pm. They had been waiting for weeks — this particular notification, this particular school. Six acceptances had already come in from other
We weren’t looking for it. We were doing what you do at an admitted students day — moving through the noise of it, stopping at booths, collecting information, watching my kid ask questions of strangers with a confidence that made my chest swell quietly every single time. We had been doing this for hours. Processing.
A few months ago, I had coffee with someone I hadn’t seen in years. She was a student at one of my previous institutions — a first-generation college student navigating a rigorous curriculum with a kind of quiet, fierce determination that I was in awe of. I was her supervisor back then, more than a
